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Restored native plant communities don’t just happen. They must be carefully planned! At Prairie Restorations, Inc., this means taking a BIG PICTURE look at your complete landscape. The site’s history, soils, moisture and light are all critical factors to consider during the planning process.
We have excellent resources to help you visualize the long-term big picture. Most eastern states have accurate and detailed maps that define specific landscapes at precise moments in history. For example, detailed information about pre-settlement vegetation patterns is available from journals of the original land surveys. In many states---including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and others---this treasury of information has been transformed into maps that can be extremely helpful to landowners during the all- important planning stages of landscape restoration.
Site Matching --Vegetation maps accurately locate historic prairies and wetlands---information that leads to completion of projects that have a higher likelihood of success. Careful planning is really just a matter of following nature’s lead. PRI will help you learn about the history of your site so you can target your restoration effort at matching the historical plant communities of your property.
Ecological Site Matching means planting prairies where there once were prairies and planting wetlands where there once were wetlands. But that’s not always simple. Most projects also have to take into consideration other important factors such as: design elements, availability of seeds and plants, desired heights, colors and functional goals of your restoration. These are subjective human elements that determine whether you, as customer, will be satisfied. It is our job to work with you to make that happen!
Keys to Successful Prairie and Wetland Planning:
- Site history
- The existing greater local landscape
- Immediate surrounding landscapes
- Preferred design elements
- Site matching and materials’ availability
Map used with permmission from the DNR.
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